Solderless connector



vFeb. 28, 1.939. c. L: PEIRCE, JR

SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR Filed April 4, 1933 Patented Feb. 28, 1939SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR Charles L. Peirce, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., assignorof one-half to Hubbard and Company, a corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication April 4, 1933, Serial No. 664,340

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-243) This invention relates to solderless connectorssuch as are employed for coupling electrical conductors. Such connectorsare used quite extensively for connecting or attaching serviceconductors to main feeder lines, for connecting transformer leads topower supply conductors, and for other analogous purposes.

The majority of solderless connectors used in the past and those nowsupplied to the trade have been constructed substantially in accordancewith the disclosure of United States Patent No. 1,206,044 dated November28, 1916.

There are several objections to such prior art connectors in that inorder to attach them to a main feeder conductor, for example, it isnecessary to remove a nut forming part of such connector. Since the mainconductors are almost always charged or live it is customary for theworkmen handling these connectors when attaching the same, to work withrubber'gloves, and for this reason the nuts are frequently dropped.Instead of replacing the nut, many workmen throw the connector away andstart with a new one. This practice, therefore, results in waste ofconnectors and loss of time.

An object of this invention is theprovision of a connector in which thecomponent parts of the A further object of the invention is theprovision of a connector having higher current carrying capacity thansimilar prior art connectors while still remaining cool in service.

connector will be always maintained in assembled relation when. preparedfor attachment to conductors.

Another objection to the prior art connectors referred to above isthat,where the connectors were used for joining conductors of differentdiameters or'gauge, the smaller conductor, instead of centering on thelarger conductor, tend- ,ed to move off center and crowd into the spacebetween one side of the conductor and one side of the connector. Forthis reason, the connection thus made was not permanently reliablebecause the pressure between the conductors continually decreased andaloose connection resulted. Also, since the conductors were usuallyof.copper, and only line contact was made between them, they crushed atthe line of contact, and flowed slightly, causing the connection tobecome loose. I

An object of this invention is, therefore, the provision of a connectorwhich shall not become loose in service and which is so constructed asto prevent relative shifting of the conductors.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a connector thatshall provide increased surface contact with conductors as compared tothe objectionable line contact of prior art con-. nectors'. j

Other objects and advantages of the inven- 5 tion will either beapparent or understood from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a. connector embodying thepresent invention, the 10 clamp parts thereof being shown disengagedfrom but maintained in assembledrelation to'each other;

Fig. 2 is a view taken at right angles to the view of Fig. 1, showingthe connector in oper- 15 ative relation to a pair of conductors whichhave been connected or joined mechanically in electrically conductiverelation to each other;

Fig. 3 is a view of the connector shown in Fig. 2 looking from right toleft as seen in Fig. 2;

Fig. 3a is a bottom plan view of the connector shown in Figs. 1, 2, and3;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a contact block embodiedin the connector ofthe above mentioned figures;

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of the connector block of Fig. 4;

Figs. 6 and 7 are top plan and side elevational views, respectively, ofa contact block which is carried by one of the clamp parts of theconnector shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3;

' Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation of the contact block shown inFigs. 6 and '7;

Fig. 9 is a top "plan view of a modified form of contact block which maybe substituted for the block shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 10 is a view in side elevation of the contact block of Fig. 9 and acontact block which is designed to be carried by the nut of theconnector shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, there being means provided on thecontact block of Fig. 9 for holding the contact block and nut inassembled relation to the connector when'the nut is removed; and

Fig. 11 is a view in front elevation of the elements shown in Fig. 10.

Throughout the drawing and specification like, reference charactersindicate like parts.

Referring to the drawing, the connector I there shown isdesignedprimarily for attaching a service conductor to a main or feederconductor, or for attaching a dead-end conductor to a through conductor.Since service conductors areusually dead-ended and the feeders arethrough 55 conductors, conductors 2' and 3 are illustrated as dead-endand through conductors, respectively.

The connector comprises a bifurcated member or clamp part 4 havingthreads 5 thereon for the reception of a nut 6, and a head I. NutIcarries a contact block 8, a. portion of which extends through theopening thereof, and is turnably supported thereby. Contact block 8 isadapted to move between the legs 9 and ID of the bifurcated member asthe nut is turned on or oil the same. The top face of the block has agroove ll therein, in which the main conductor 3 may lie or seat whenthe connector is attached thereto.

The connector also includes a contact block I! disposed between the legsof the bifurcated member and adapted to move therebetween in thedirection of travel of but 6. The opposite faces of block it may begrooved as at l3 and M to' form seats for conductors 2 and 3,

In order that nut G, the contact block 8 and the bifurcated member 4 maybe maintained in assembled relation to each other when the nut isremoved to prepare the connector for attachment to the main and serviceconductors, a link is is provided. The link is anchored in contact blockl2 and has a sliding connection with con-, tact block 8. The lower endof the link termi- I nates in a scroll or hook l6 which prevents contactblock 8 from slipping oil the same when the nut is removed from thebifurcated member. Thus, when the nut is removed, the nut and contactblock 8 will be suspended from the link as shown in Fig. '1, so that-thelineman may workfreely and will not be hampered by the possibility of'theinut fallingto the. ground. a

When the connector has been prepared for connection tothe conductors, asshown in Fig. 1, the bifurcated member is placed over the main conductorand the nut threaded thereon. The nut is advanced until thereissufllcient space between the head I and block-l2 to accommodate theservice conductor 2. The dead-end of the con-" ductor is then insertedlengthwise through the space between this block and head I and the nutdrawn up tight. When the nut is drawn up tight, conductor 2 is clampedbetween the head "l'and block l2 and conductor 3 is clamped beby thelegs of-the bifurcated member when the connector is attached toconductors.

In order to increase the area of contact between conductor 2 and head I,the head may be provided with a groove or recess II.

{ After the conductors have been joined or clamped together by means ofthe connector, the

connector may be wrapped with tape as is customary.

Since the head 1 and the contact blocks a and I! engage a relativelylarge portion of the surface area of the conductors-nut 8 maybe drawn uptightly to exert a relatively high compressive force on the conductorscausing a tight connec tion to be made without overstressing the metalof which the conductors are made. Since the metal is not overstressed,it will not flow and cause the connection to become loose after it has 7been in service for atime.

,, .In the prior art connectors, theconductors' .cannot turn betweenthelegs thereof.

were placed in direct contact, so that only line contact was madebetween them. Hence, the

metal was nearly always overstressed so that the connection would workloose. Also, since there was only line contact between the conductors,the current carrying capacity of the connection was materially less thanthat of the conductors, so

that excessive heating often occurred and resulted in what iscommonlyreferred toas a hot described may be made from metal having highcurrent conductivity, such as copper, and designed to accommodate anysize of conductor, or conductors or different. sizes. In the drawing theconductors are shown as being of different sizes or gauge becauseservice wires or conductors are usually smaller than the main or feederconductors to whichthey are connected. However, the main and feederconductors may be of the same size. as the connector isadapted to suitsuch cases. x In the design of member 4 may be formed from square orhex-.3 agonal stock so that the head may be held by a wrench when thenut is tightened or taken oil. The threads on part 4- may then be cut,the body thereof bored, and slots: cut therein to form the.

legs 9 and I0. Since most of the current'in the when a selection ofmaterial is made for the bifurcated member, the possibilityof galvanicthe connector, the bifurcated w iii action should be. taken intoaccount. For this I -reasonythe metal of which; the componentpartstioned. These curved surfacesand the arcuate projections form in effect,a. tongue and groove connection which holds the block in place andprevents longitudinal movement thereof between the legs of thebifurcated member. Since the ends of the block extend through part 4,the block In order that blockl2 shall not drop out of part 4 .when nut 8is removed, the end of one of the legs may be provided with a shortinwardly projecting lug fl. Thislug supports the block when the parts ofthe connector occupy the relative positions indicated in Figure 1. vContact block I may-be formed in a die 'fro high current conductivity,and so shaped that the portion containing recesses H wilhlie acrossthenut. The bottom portion of this block may sheet material-of copper orother metal having be p'rovided with short lugs 2| which may bebentoutwardly to lock the block to the nut.

' As'shown, the 'upper end of. the link is disposed in of said blockengages the edges of leg Ill. Thus,

the block isheld in its proper position relative to block l2 when thenut is threaded on part 4 to clamp the conductors together.

The link l5 which holds nut 6 and block 8 in assembled relation to theconnector part 4, may be attached to the connector in various ways.

an opening in theblock and anchored therein as by brazing or welding,and the lower end of the link extends through an opening 23 in the topof bulge 22 of block 8 and terminates in the scroll or hook abovementioned, which, being larger Y than this opening will not permit thelink to pull through the opening inthe block as is evident by inspectionof fig. 1. Y

In Figs. 9, 10, and 11, contact blocks 2|, 25 and a connecting link 26therefor are shown which may be substituted for the contact blocks 8 andI2 and link l5 of the'connector shown in Figs. 1',

, 2, and 3a and illustrated in detail-in Figs. 4 to 8,

inclusive.

Block 24 may be formed in a die and comprises a body portion 21 adaptedto extend through the space between the legs 9 and II of; the bifurcatedmember. The body portion may be provided with -lugs 28 which may be bentand shaped to conform substantially to the contour of the exteriorsurface'of the connector-legs and thereby par tially embrace thesame,and with conductor receiving recesses or seats 29 and 30. The legs ofthe bifurcated member are illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 9 in orderto show how the contact opening in the nut and provides suillcient spacebetween the nut and block to accommodate the legs of the bifurcatedmember.

The top of block 25' is provided with lugs 3i adapted to span theopening in the nut, and the bottom thereof is provided with lugs 22which may be bent outwardly so as to overlap the lower face of the nut,after the block has been inserted through the opening thereof. Thuscontact block.

25is interlocked with the V nut and is turnably mounted therein.

The top of the block maybe orrecessed 'as at 33 to provide a seat forconductor 2 that will contact a substantial portion of the area of theconductor.

.One side of contact block 25 hasaslot 24 therein to accommodate thelower end of link '2' and the bottom is open to permit the mounting ofthe block thereon. Link 26 may be formed from a relativelythin, flatstrip of metal the upper end 'of wh ch is bent.- as ,at 25, over oneedge of the I contact block 24 or otherwise secured thereto. The lowerend of the strip terminates in a hook 36 .of substantially T shape. Asseen'inal 'ig. 11,

the leg 31 of the hook is made narrow so that it may move in slot 24 inthe block. The crossbar of the T is disposed within the block and is vofsuch length that it will pass through the open bottom thereof.

When the nut is removed from the bifurcated member, the nut and blockoccupy the broken line position indicated at A and position B whenthreaded thereon. Position B indicates that the nut and block are out ofengagement with the lower en of the link when the nut is drawn up toposition in which the conductors are clamped between the head I of thebifurcated member and the blocks 24 and 25. I

From the above description taken in connection with the drawing of theconnector, it will be observed that the component parts of the conhectorare held intact and in assembled relation at all times: and especiallywhen prepared for attachment to conductors so that, therefore, no partof the-connector will be dropped by the workmen while engaged in the actof joining one neither the parts nor the conductors will be overstressedand crushed in case the nut is drawn up tightly. The large surfacecontact also insures a permanently reliable connection and one havinghigh current capacity. Since the connector provides independent be,areas for the conductors, line contact therebe ween is avoided andfurthermore, relative shifting of the conductors if Fny occurs, will notcause the connection to work oose.

While a preferred form of "connector has been shown and described, it isto be understood by those skilled in this art that various modificationsand changes made be made in the details and form of construction of? theconnector as a whole and of its component parts without departingeitherfrom the spirit the scope of the invention. It is desired,therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed on the inventionas are imposed by the prior art and the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A solder-less connector for joining conductors comprising a threadedbifurcated member, a contact block movably disposed between the legs ofthe bifurcated member, a nut adapted to ,be threaded on 'or off thebifurcated member, a contact block turnably mounted on the nut andadapted to operate between the legs of the bifurcated member, saidblocks, when the nut is threaded on the bifurcated member, beingadaptcmanns'n Ja.

- in the nut.

' conductor to another. The parts of the connector edto clamp aconductor therebetween, and the first-mentioned block being disposed toclamp a

